The Aboriginal Disability Network brings together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability to:
- tell our stories
- give each other support
- create a voice for change
- speak for ourselves.
On this page:
Background
In early 2002 People with Disability Australia (PWD) was asked by a group of Aboriginal people with disability to facilitate a state conference that brought together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with disability from around NSW.
The conference was held in November 2002 at Gibba Gunyah Stone Quarry Lodge, Picton (south of Sydney, NSW). Over 100 Aboriginal people with disability attended the conference. A key outcome of the conference was the formal establishment of the Aboriginal Disability Network NSW (ADN). Participants at the conference endorsed PWD to continue to auspice the development of the network.
In order to achieve this, PWD in collaboration with the ADN management committee, sought financial support from government, non-government and private sector bodies.
In 2003 PWD was successful in receiving a small grant from the Rio Tinto Aboriginal Foundation for the ADN. PWD was also successful in late 2003 in receiving financial support from the Westpac Foundation to enable the maintenance and development of the network. The activities relating to this funding commenced on 1 January 2004 and concluded on 31 December 2004.
Management committee
Members of the management committee are:
Mr Lester Bostock
Lester is a Bundjalung man with physical disability. Lester is widely recognised as a pioneer of Aboriginal media in Australia and has been involved in the establishment of several community organisations. Lester was awarded a Centenary Medal and is a life member of People with Disability Australia.
Ms Kim Curtis-Newton
Kim is an Awabakal woman with a hearing impairment. Kim is employed as a teacher of the deaf and is one of a small group of Aboriginal people who use Auslan sign language.
Mr John Foster
John is a Tharawal man. John is employed as a consultant for Aboriginal people with disability seeking open employment. John is also an elder within his community in the southern suburbs of Sydney.
Ms Ros Sackley
Ros is a Wiradjuri woman with a vision impairment. Ros is an original participant in the Working Group that established the National Indigenous Disability Network and as a result was a driving force behind the establishment of the Aboriginal Disability Network NSW.
Ms Sheree Freeburn
Sheree is a Wiradjuri woman who is a leading advocate for the rights of Aboriginal carers of Aboriginal people with disability. She has been employed as a carers advocate for several years.